I recently posted this B&A, and I have people messaging me asking for my skincare since apparently my skin looks good.
Now, I still don't think my skin is as great as great as I want it to be, but I have to admit, it's a great improvement than what it was....
I was dealing with constant breakouts and a lot of bumps all over my face. I had an oily face, but gross, flaking skin for ages, as well as all these white bumps & milia thanks to clogged pores. Even my eyelids would flake. I don't have pictures from the times when the flaking was really bad since I looked like a lizard & was so self-conscious, but I do have these pics.
This is when I discovered my meat sensitivity and my skin started improving. There's still a lot of hidden cystic acne you can't see in pics, but I could feel them and they were painful.
\
Finally...
I'm 28 and that means I need to worry about losing volume in my face. I also have to worry about Sjögren's which dries my face out insanely.
Of course a daily skincare routine is important, but besides that, these helped my skin immensely:
I found out meat was giving me these painful, deep cystic acne that don't show up for ages, but end up becoming very bad discolouration all over my face. After I started taking HCl supplements before I eat meat, my skin improved drastically. I sometimes forget my supplements, and that's when I start breaking out a few days later.
Yes, this is a splurge, but everyone notices the difference after I do this. My skin becomes so glowing and hydrated. I used to do it once every 3 months, but now I do it once every 5 months or so. I get mine done with Dr Jonathan Yong, and I have to recommend him. He's been my dermatologist for a year, and the best one I've ever encountered. He doesn't push any products or treatments on me, and even tells me when I'm being crazy and need to calm the fuck down. I used to have a love-hate relationship when going to dermatologists because I always end up with products I got pressured into buying, but I never had this problem with Dr Yong. I actually enjoy going to the dermatologist now.
I'm not sponsored in any way to recommend him btw, I just really love the guy. Especially when he humours me when I'm being crazy like this:
If you have regular, non-dehydrated skin, I'm pretty sure you can get away with just doing this annually. If you're curious about this treatment, here's a video of it:
Now, for my skincare routine as of March 2017, with reviews. I'm constantly trying out new products, so this will change every month. I'll do a new one for April. Bolded items are tried & tested holy grail items I strongly recommend, the rest are items I'm meh about or still testing out.
AM:
PM:
Every other day at night:
During breakouts:
Now, I still don't think my skin is as great as great as I want it to be, but I have to admit, it's a great improvement than what it was....
2 years ago
I was dealing with constant breakouts and a lot of bumps all over my face. I had an oily face, but gross, flaking skin for ages, as well as all these white bumps & milia thanks to clogged pores. Even my eyelids would flake. I don't have pictures from the times when the flaking was really bad since I looked like a lizard & was so self-conscious, but I do have these pics.
 |
| I thought I was having great skin here. The light is very forgiving, but you can see all the bumps where it's brighter. |
 |
| This was with makeup, and I thought I did a good job concealing. You can see all the spots are still visible despite the makeup. |
1 year ago
This is when I discovered my meat sensitivity and my skin started improving. There's still a lot of hidden cystic acne you can't see in pics, but I could feel them and they were painful.
\
Finally...
8 months ago
This is after I met my new dermatologist, and discovered some of my holy grail products. I also upped my hydration game because I found out I have Sjögren's.My skin condition now...
I'm 28 and that means I need to worry about losing volume in my face. I also have to worry about Sjögren's which dries my face out insanely.
Of course a daily skincare routine is important, but besides that, these helped my skin immensely:
Diet
I found out meat was giving me these painful, deep cystic acne that don't show up for ages, but end up becoming very bad discolouration all over my face. After I started taking HCl supplements before I eat meat, my skin improved drastically. I sometimes forget my supplements, and that's when I start breaking out a few days later.
Hydrafacial
Yes, this is a splurge, but everyone notices the difference after I do this. My skin becomes so glowing and hydrated. I used to do it once every 3 months, but now I do it once every 5 months or so. I get mine done with Dr Jonathan Yong, and I have to recommend him. He's been my dermatologist for a year, and the best one I've ever encountered. He doesn't push any products or treatments on me, and even tells me when I'm being crazy and need to calm the fuck down. I used to have a love-hate relationship when going to dermatologists because I always end up with products I got pressured into buying, but I never had this problem with Dr Yong. I actually enjoy going to the dermatologist now.
I'm not sponsored in any way to recommend him btw, I just really love the guy. Especially when he humours me when I'm being crazy like this:
If you have regular, non-dehydrated skin, I'm pretty sure you can get away with just doing this annually. If you're curious about this treatment, here's a video of it:
March 2017 Skincare Routine
Now, for my skincare routine as of March 2017, with reviews. I'm constantly trying out new products, so this will change every month. I'll do a new one for April. Bolded items are tried & tested holy grail items I strongly recommend, the rest are items I'm meh about or still testing out.
AM:
- Glam Glow Youth Cleanser: love it, too expensive, looking for a dupe
- Wipe down with Hada Labo serum Anti-Aging version: this has retinoids to combat breakouts too!
- Sulwhasoo First Activating Serum: my skin got really good since I used this, I think it's because it really does help your skin absorb everything better. My free samples are running out, and I'm dreading the price
- Dermacept Vitamin C 10%
- Hada Labo serum Anti-Aging version
- Sulwhasoo hydrating serum
- Sulwhasoo ginseng eye cream: this is magic. The sunken holes under my eyes started disappearing
- Etude House collagen moisturizer: just finishing up a free sample..I'm meh about it. My face stayed the same, which is great since my face takes a lot of work, but there's no improvement either
- Amore Pacific day cream with SPF: not a fan, it's too heavy and greasy, and gives me a white cast
- Biore Perfect Face Milk: sunscreen & best primer ever. My makeup looks better with this
- Illamsqua's hydraveil: haven't seen a difference
PM:
- L'Oreal Micellar Water makeup remover: I moved on to water based makeup removers since oil-based ones were breaking me out. I've tried Garnier's & Bioderma's too, but L'Oreal's is the best since it wipes off my makeup as well as Garnier, but doesn't sting my eyes as much
- Glam Glow Youth Cleanser
- Wipe down with Hada Labo serum Anti-Aging version
- Sulwhasoo First Activating Serum
- Dermacept Vitamin C 10%
- Hada Labo serum Anti-Aging version
- Sulwhasoo hydrating serum
- PCA Skin hydrating serum: got this from my dermatologist...kinda meh about this since I don't see much of an improvement, but I'm just finishing it up
- Sulwhasoo ginseng eye cream
- Etude House collagen sleeping pack: get this. Everyone I recommended it to got glowing, plump cheeks. May not make a difference if you're early 20s and younger, but in your late 20s, it's the difference between late 20s and early 20s
Every other day at night:
- Sheet masks: I'm a fan of anything by Leader's Brand, except the masks that come in stiff hard paper that just falls off my face, and anything with ginseng or snail. My Beauty Diary is my favourite budget face masks, and the brands I most frequently buy are Etude House, Innisfree & The Face Shop just because they're easy to access in Singapore.
- Etude House's lip patch: the only thing that hydrates my lips...Sjögren's means my lips are often split and bleeding, but at $5/piece, I don't use it that often
- Glam Glow mud mask: clears my breakouts so well. On my husband who takes terrible care of his skin, this makes a HUGE difference. His face ends up so clean and bright afterwards!
- Glam Glow anti-aging mask: yeah, I got this thanks to the silver selfies on social media..it's meh
- Cure Natural Aqua Gel: I used to have a lot of whiteheads and this helped reduce them significantly. Huge fan. I used it daily when I was clearing up my skin, but now it's every other day.
During breakouts:
- Cosrx one step pimple clear pad: I just discovered this and it's magic. Brings stubborn acne to head so fast, and if you're patient, helps them disappear. I'm bad and I pop.
- Epiduo adapelene 0.1%/benzoyl peroxide 2.5% gel: I'm not repurchasing because I don't feel it makes a difference, but maybe I'm just impatient and like instant results.
- Nexcare acne cover patches: sucks all the gunk out after you pop. I love it.
And there you have it! I'm currently trying out several new products, and I'll update you all in a month!
